Bluefin Tuna – Atlantic Canada

Species and Area

Bluefin tuna fished in Atlantic Canada are part of the western Atlantic stock. Because of their highly migratory nature, bluefin are managed under the jurisdiction of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

Dates of season (subject to change)

The bluefin tuna commercial fishing season runs from January 1 through December 31 each year in Atlantic Canada but, the directed fishery for the individual fleets open on various dates as chosen by the fleet. Traditionally the fishery begins with the migration of bluefin into Canadian waters in early July and continues until November. The majority of landings occur between mid-August and late October.

Total Allowable Catches and Sharing Arrangements

The Canadian allocation of Atlantic bluefin tuna is set by ICCAT. The Commission allocates tunas in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, including the western Atlantic bluefin stock which is shared by Canada, the United States, Japan, Bermuda, St. Pierre and Miquelon and Mexico. The Total Allowable Catch for the western bluefin tuna stock is set at 1, 750t for 2012. The quota that Canada received from ICCAT is 483.2t made up of an allocation of 396.7t from ICCAT plus an 86.5t transfer of quota from Mexico to Canada.

The overall Canadian quota for 2012 is 488.7t which includes the 2012 Canadian quota of 483t plus 5.5t of unharvested Canadian quota from 2011. After adjustments resulting from the 2011 fishery, the 2012 Canadian quota is split between; inshore fleets directing for tuna with total allocations of 441.6t an offshore licence holder which receives 15.2t and a bycatch quota of 22t for the pelagic longline (PLL) fleet that has directed fisheries for swordfish and/or other tuna species. For 2012, a 10 tonne quota has been established to cover off any mortality that may occur in charter boat and other science based catch and release fisheries.

* Quotas adjusted to reflect overharvest or under-harvest by the various inshore fleets in 2011.

Management Measures

The Canadian bluefin fishery is tightly controlled through a number of conservation, enforcement and monitoring measures. Along with limited entry into the fishery, there are restrictions on the amount and type of gear used, limited fish size, vessel replacement, management fishing areas, and licence transfer requirements. Fishermen are also required to complete fishing log books of all their activities.

A number of at-sea observers are deployed on various tuna boats, throughout the season, to collect biological data and monitor compliance with fishing regulations. Canada also uses a comprehensive enforcement protocol that involves a combination of the Dockside Monitoring Program and shore and sea-based patrols of Department of Fisheries and Oceans Fisheries Officers to ensure compliance with domestic regulations. Since 2008, ICCAT has made it mandatory for a catch document to be completed for bluefin tuna. The catch document tracks the movement of tuna from the harvester to exporter to importer and on through until it is sold in the marketplace. Canada also uses a system of uniquely numbered tags that must be attached to all bluefin tuna landed in Canada. This allows each individual bluefin tuna caught to be tracked from boat to market.

Since 2004, the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery has been managed using fleet quota shares to provide stability for inshore fleets and allow them to set their own harvesting plan to focus on value from the fishery. In 2007, the fleet shares that had been in place from 2004-2006 were adjusted slightly to account for the high number of First Nations licence holders in the Gulf New Brunswick fleet whose catches had previously been risk managed and thus not counted against that fleets quotas. The shares introduced in 2007 are in place for a minimum of five years to further promote stability in this fishery.

Quota transfers between inshore bluefin tuna fleets, the pelagic longline fleet and the offshore tuna licence holder will be permitted subject to DFO approval. A fleet’s overharvest or uncaught quota in 2011 was respectively either subtracted from or added to that fleet’s quota in 2012 . Any uncaught Canadian quota of western Atlantic bluefin tuna in 2012 will be added to the overall Canadian quota in 2013.